


Fluffy Where The Wild Things Are

by Hils



Series: The Fluffy Files [30]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2001-02-06
Updated: 2001-02-06
Packaged: 2018-10-11 01:22:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10451835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hils/pseuds/Hils





	

As the doors to Lowell House opened, Anya and Spike were met with a hive of activity. It was a typical college party, various couples were dotted around making out with each other, a game of spin the bottle was in progress and there was enough booze around to keep everyone's glass full for the whole night.

Spike smiled. Although hanging out with a bunch of students wouldn't have been his first choice for a night out, this looked like it might actually be fun. His eyes settled on one of the larger beer kegs and he was about to head over when something made him stop. His eyes narrowed as he scanned the residents, a familiar feeling tingling at the back of his mind.

"Do I know any of this lot?" He asked Anya who was still soaking in the atmosphere and trying hard not to look for Xander.

"Probably." Anya replied simply. "The Initiative base is under this hall and a lot of these guys are soldiers."

Shock, horror and appal flooded Spike's features as he looked nervously around the room. Suddenly being here didn't seem like quite so much fun. If anyone recognised him he'd back down in their lab for sure, and this time he didn't think escape would be an option.

"Are you insane?" He hissed to Anya. "You brought me here of all places?"

Before she could reply Xander joined them.

"What the hell did you bring _him_ for?" He asked, eyeing Spike with disdain. There was also a look of suspicion in his eyes, which both Spike and Anya picked up on.

"Are you telling me I can't see other people now that you won't have sex with me?" Anya demanded.

"No, I just want to know why you're at a party with HOSTILE SEVENTEEN."

If it was possible, Spike's face grew even paler than normal.

"Shut up, you wanker." He hissed, his eyes scanning the crowd for the troop of soldiers he knew must beheading their way.

"What was that HOSTILE SEVENTEEN?" Xander asked, a cruel sneer on his face. "You want some BLOOD?"

"Xander, stop it!" Anya hissed and this finally caused him to fall silent.

By now a look of total fear was on Spike's face and he was about to run out of the door when he realised no one was doing anything. In fact, no one even seemed to have noticed that Xander was talking.

He took a shaky breath and smiled. "Looks like this might be fun after all. I'm going to get a drink."

As he disappeared into the crowd Anya turned and glared at Xander. "That was so immature. You could have gotten him killed."

"So you're defending him now?" Xander asked in disbelief. "Nice to see it took you all of five minutes to move on."

"What? You think I'm having sex with Spike?" Anya could barely believe what she was hearing. First Xander didn't want to have sex with her, and now he was accusing her of doing it with someone else.

Xander at least had the decency to look ashamed at her outburst. "Well....I....aren't you?"

"No! I ran into Spike at the Bronze. We were both feeling a bit down so I invited him here. Just because I enjoy sex with you doesn't mean I go out and have it with anyone."

Xander couldn’t help but smile. When he’d seen Anya and Spike come in together he felt like his heart had been ripped out of his chest and stamped on. But her words did everything to reassure him and he knew now that he’s been an idiot to even think about leaving her.

"Ahn, I’m sorry." He said, reaching out and stroking her arm.

Just the mere feeling of his skin against hers caused Anya to shudder with pleasure. Seeing him like this reminded her just why she hadn't been able to bring herself to eviscerate him.

"I'm sorry too." She said, before a wicked smile spread across her face. "Let's go and make it up to each other."

Xander took her hand and together they headed up to one of the bedrooms. They had a lot of making up top do.

* * *

Spike in the meantime was having a great time. Nobody was paying him the slightest bit of attention and there was enough booze and snack food to keep him happy for the evening. It certainly beat sitting at home with cheap bourbon and trashy TV. He settled himself down in the corner and watched what was going on around him. People were so much more entertaining than television.

He honed in on a game of spin the bottle and settled down to watch. Willow was playing and it was always fun to watch people you know make fools out of themselves.

Unknowing of her audience, Willow glanced nervously around the group. She'd never been a big fan of these party games Tara, rather unlike her, had suggested it might be fun. So now they were all sat in a circle and it was Tara's turn to spin. She smiled across the circle at Willow as the bottle spun and Willow gasped with surprise when she saw a flash of magic in Tara's eyes. Then the bottle stopped right in front of her.

Amid much cheering and hooting from the guys Tara smiled and crawled over to Willow.

"Looks like it's your lucky day." She breathed and before Willow could even register what was happening Tara pounced on her, smothering her lips with a passionate kiss.

From his seat Spike choked on his beer and almost fell off the chair. Now _that_ he hadn't seen coming.

The kiss went on for almost a minute before Tara finally jumped to her feet, a look of total horror and disgust on her face.

"Oh God." She whispered before turning and running, leaving a stunned Willow in her wake.

Seeing that the show was over Spike sighed with disappointment and decided to see if anything interesting was happening elsewhere. He refilled his glass and began to mingle in the crowd; half-hoping he was going to get another show like he'd had before.

It was then that he noticed the weird stuff that seemed to be going on in the house. At first it was just little things he saw; a girl crying, a few students gathered around an apparently ordinary wall. Then he began to see the children. It was just one at first, a boy stood on the stairs, but then he began to see more and more of them, and could feel the energy coming off them.

The place was haunted.

"What are you doing here?" A cold voice suddenly said behind him, causing him to jump. Slowly he turned and found himself facing Buffy and Riley.

"Do you have any idea how stupid it was coming here?" Riley continued, pissed off not even starting to cover the look on his face. Buffy, on the other hand, was unusually quiet. She looked at Spike almost curiously, as though she was seeing him for the first time

Spike smirked at Riley, his bravado kicking in as it usually did when he was threatened. "Well, I got my invitation and it seemed rude to turn it down."

Riley's face darkened and Buffy tried her best to fight back a snicker, causing Spike to look at her in confusion. "You ok, Slayer."

She straightened her face and nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

"So what's with all the spookies?" Spike asked, peering over Riley's shoulder at the children he could still see hovering in the background. Seeing them wasn't what bothered him though, it was the way they felt. He could almost feel their tiny, cold fingers wrapping themselves around his unbeating heart. A disturbing sensation, even for a vampire.

"What are you talking about?" Riley asked, the anger still clear in his voice.

Spike looked at him and blinked before sighing deeply. "Great, you don't see them. Bloody marvellous."

"See what?" Riley asked, taking a step forward, trying his best to look menacing.

As if to answer his question the house suddenly began to shake, causing all the partygoers to scream and make a beeline for the doors.

In true poltergeist style, books began to fly from the shelves, hitting people in the back as they tried frantically to escape.

"We need to get out of here." Buffy said, apparently only now finding her voice. Riley and Spike nodded and the three of them headed for the door. They'd almost made it out when a bunch of electrical wires detached themselves from the wall and hooked around Spike. Before he could even register what was going on he'd been pulled back inside and was being strung up like some sort of marionette.

No matter how hard he struggled Spike couldn't get free and it wasn't until Buffy and Riley were outside that they saw what had happened.

"Make sure everyone else is ok." Buffy instructed, running back inside before Riley had the chance to object.

Spike was struggling with all the strength he could muster but that only seemed to make the wires tighten around him. He was well and truly stuck.

"Spike!"

He raised his head at the sound of him name and was surprised to see Buffy standing in front of him, her eyes looking around for some sort of weapon.

"Hang on." She called, spotting something on the other side of the room. "I'm going to get you down."

"'Hang on' she says." Spike muttered as Buffy disappeared out of sight. "Like I have much of a choice in the matter."

Buffy soon found what she was looking for, a replica sword hanging on one of the walls. She pulled it down and hurried back to Spike.

"Watch where you swing that thing." Spike warned as he saw the weapon in her hand. "I'd rather like to leave here with all my limbs still attached to my body."

Buffy rolled her eyes and swung at the cables, cutting through then easily even though the sword was blunt. Spike dropped to the floor with a thud and before either of them could be caught again Buffy grabbed Spike and half dragged him outside.

"I hate ghosts." Spike muttered as he brushed himself off.

"You're welcome." Buffy grumbled in response, seeing she was going to get no words of thanks from the vampire.

They were soon joined by Riley and the others who had been waiting outside for them.

"Are you ok?" Riley asked, checking her over for signs of any injury.

"I'm fine." Buffy replied. "Is everyone else ok?"

Willow pushed her way to the front, Tara close behind. Both of them had concern etched into their faces.

"Buffy, I can't find Xander. I...I think he's still inside."

"A-Anya too." Tara added.

Buffy turned and looked back at the house, everything seeming unervingly still now that they were all outside.

"You guys go and get help. Find Giles and find out how to get rid of these ghosts. I'm going back in to get them out."

Riley moved over and stood beside her. "I'm coming with you."

"Me too." Spike added.

Everyone turned to look at him, shock and surprise on all their faces.

"What?" Spike asked, sounding almost offended. "Just because I'm evil doesn't mean I can't have a bit of fun. Besides, I'm the only one that can see these things."

Buffy sighed and nodded. "Ok fine."

"We'll work fast." Willow said and they quickly headed off in search of Giles.

Buffy, Spike and Riley turned back to the house and approached it with trepidation.

* * *

The house was eerily silent as they entered and there appeared to be no sign of movement of any kind. It was almost hard to imagine that anything out of the ordinary had happened in the place. They only thing that betrayed it were the cables hanging loose from the ceiling and the books that lay strewn all over the floor.

"We should split up." Buffy said, desperate to break the silence. "Riley, you check down here since you know where everything is. Me and Spike will take upstairs."

As much as he wanted to object, Riley didn't want to appear like the clingy boyfriend. Instead he merely nodded, true soldier style.

As Riley began to explore downstairs, Buffy and Spike headed up. Although the silence continued, the further up the stairs they got the more things began to change. The air around them grew denser, heavier and it felt as though someone had turned the heat right up to full. By the time they reached the top of the stairs they were both sweating slightly and panting, despite the fact that Spike shouldn't technically feel the heat and had no need to breathe.

"Looks like the ghosts are back." Buffy gasped, wiping the moisture from her forehead.

"Yeah." Spike agreed, removing his coat and draping it over the stair rail.

Buffy did the same thing, placing her jacket over his. As she pulled back her hand brushed against his and she gasped. It felt like electricity was passing through her, and from the looks of him he felt it too. His eyes were wide and he was staring at her.

"Wow." She breathed, reaching out to touch him again. It was like nothing she'd ever felt before. It was like all the pleasure she'd ever experienced, compressed into one small moment.

Deep in the back of his mind Spike knew that there was something not right about it. There was no way one girl should be able to make him feel this good, especially not the Slayer.

"Buffy." He tried to say, but it came out sounding like more of a moan.

Buffy raised her eyes to meet his for a split second before she grabbed him by the shirt and pushed him hard against the wall, smashing his lips down onto his.

The last of Spike's resolve left him at the feel of her body flush against his and he kissed her back with everything he had. His arms slid around her waist as he attempted to pull her even closer.

"Can't...gotta...find....Xander." Buffy gasped in between kisses, but made no attempt to let go of him.

Spike merely nodded and carried on kissing her. Both of them were so enwrapped with each other that they didn't hear Riley climb up the stairs behind them.

"Buffy, I didn't find anything downstairs. How about...."

He stopped mid sentence and froze as he saw his girlfriend and a vampire locked in a passionate embrace.

"Buffy?" He choked, his brain telling him that what he was seeing had to be some sort of illusion.

Buffy, however, didn't appear to hear him. She just carried on kissing Spike like there was nothing amiss. Finally Riley brain kicked his body into gear and he marched over to the couple and pulled them apart.

Buffy whimpered at the loss of contact from Spike while the vampire just looked plain annoyed.

"Hey, do you mind?" He asked, reaching out for Buffy who looked as though she was about to start crying.

"Do I mind?" Riley asked incredulously. "That's _my_ girlfriend you were groping."

"Possessive much." Buffy muttered under her breath, looking like a sulking five-year-old.

"I think the lady has made her choice." Spike said, taking a step forward. Riley reacted instantly, grabbing Spike by the shirt and pushing him over to the stair rail so that his upper body was hanging over the edge.

"Now let's just get one thing straight." Riley hissed. "I don't like vampires and I especially don't like you. Now if you so much as look at Buffy again I'm going to do what I should have done a long time ago."

Buffy stared at the two men with wide eyes for a moment before running over and grabbing hold of Riley, pulling him back with every ounce of strength she had. It achieved what she wanted; Riley flew back and hit the wall. Unfortunately it also caused him to release his hold on Spike and the vampire toppled over the rail and hit the floor below.

Buffy's hand flew to her mouth as she realised was she had inadvertently done. She quickly hurried back down the stairs, leaving a dazed Riley still sat on the landing.

"Spike?" She called, kneeling beside the fallen vampire. "Are you ok?"

A groan answered her question as Spike's eyes opened.

"Bugger me, that hurt." He said, sitting up and rubbing the back of his head, which had apparently taken most of the impact.

"You're ok." Buffy smiled with relief, throwing her arms around him and covering his face with more kisses.

His pain forgotten Spike wrapped his arms around her and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"I'm fine, love." He reassured. "Now why don't we find your mates so we can get out of here and finish this in private."

Buffy nodded and climbed to her feet, extending a hand to Spike so that she could help him to his feet. Once they were both upright they slowly headed back up the stairs.

Riley was stood waiting for them when they reached the top and he frowned when he saw their hands clasped.

"Buffy, what's going on?" He asked wearily.

"Can we talk about this later?" Buffy asked dismissivley, moving a little closer to Spike. "We need to find Xander and Anya."

Riley sighed and nodded, the three of them making their way down the corridor together.

"What's in there?" Buffy asked as they reached a door.

"Bathroom." Riley replied.

Buffy nodded. "Ok, Spike and I will-"

"NO!" Riley interrupted. "You can go in and check it out. Spike and I will check some of the bedrooms. Separately."

"But-" Buffy began to protest but was stopped when Riley shook his head. With a sigh she opened the door and stepped inside.

"Let's go." Riley said firmly, seeing Spike staring wistfully at the space Buffy had been occupying.

With a sigh the two of them began to explore the nearby bedrooms.

* * *

Buffy was disappointed to find that all was quiet in the bathroom and there was certainly no sign of Xander or Anya. Since Riley was keeping her from getting her hands all over Spike, she was now desperate to fight anything in order to work off some of the tension she was feeling.

Her eyes landed on the bathtub, which was concealed by the drawn shower curtain. The curtain was blowing gently, as though caught in a breeze, but Buffy felt nothing. Approaching the tub slowly she yanked back the curtain and was horrified to see a boy being held under the water by some sort of invisible force, his legs thrashing around in a desperate bid to escape.

For a moment Buffy thought it might be Xander, and she quickly leaned in to help him. Too late she realised her mistake, and was barely able to let out a scream before the boy disappeared from the tub and something behind her pushed her in, holding her beneath the water.

* * *

"What was that?" Spike asked, peering out of one of the empty bedrooms.

"I don't know." Riley answered, both of them heading out onto the landing.

It was then they heard the sound of splashing coming from the bathroom.

"Buffy." They both said in unison, running for the door. Spike was the first to arrive and as soon as he was inside the door slammed closed behind him. Riley arrived a few seconds later but try as he might he couldn't get the door to open. He was about to try and break it down when a noise behind him made him stop.

Turning around he was stunned to see thick vines growing rapidly from his bedroom door and spreading across the landing. He barely had time to react before one of the vines wrapped itself around his neck and slowly began to choke him.

* * *

As soon as Spike entered the bathroom he saw one of the children he'd seen earlier leaning over the bathtub. He ran over and saw that the boy was holding Buffy beneath the water, her struggles beginning to weaken.

"You little bugger, let go of her!" He yelled.

"She's been naughty." The boy said calmly. "She must be punished."

"Let her go." Spike repeated in a dangerously low voice. "Or I'll make you regret ever haunting this place."

The boy looked at Spike curiously for a moment before fading from sight. Spike quickly reached into the tub and pulled Buffy out, holding her close as she began to cough and sob at the same time. Her breath came in short, ragged gasps as she attempted to compose herself. He short brush with death at the hands of The Master had left her terrified of drowning.

"It's ok." Spike hushed gently as she sobbed into his chest. "Shh, I've got you. You're safe now."

Neither of them knew how long they stayed together on the bathroom floor, but finally Buffy's cries tapered off and she looked up at Spike gratefully.

"Thank you." She smiled, leaning up and brushing a hand over his cheek.

"Any time." Spike replied, leaning down and brushing a soft kiss over her lips.

Both of them were aware that things had now changed between them. The hot and fiery lust that they'd felt earlier was gone, and in its place was something closer to love.

"We should go." Buffy said softly, struggling to her feet.

Spike nodded, and headed over to the door. Turning the handle it opened easily and the two of them headed onto the landing, almost walking straight into Riley's dangling body.

"Oh my god!" Buffy shrieked, taking in the blue colour of his face and the glazed look in his eyes. If he wasn't already dead then he wasn't far from it.

Spike was already tearing at the vine around Riley's neck and Buffy quickly reached over to help, the two of them managing to combine their strength enough to snap the plant. Riley's body dropped to the floor and Buffy quickly knelt down beside him, checking for any signs of life.

As she rubbed her hands over his red and raw throat Riley coughed weakly and opened his eyes.

"Are you ok?" Buffy asked with concern.

He nodded and attempted to speak, little more than a whistle coming from his parched and cracked lips. "My room."

Buffy looked over her shoulder and saw that indeed the vines seemed to be sprouting from the door to Riley's dorm room. It didn't take a genius to work out that that was probably where Xander and Anya were.

Reaching up she pulled her jacket off the stair rail and pillowed it under Riley's head.

"Just rest here." She said gently. "We'll come back for you in a minute."

Riley nodded and closed his eyes as Buffy stood up and moved over to Spike.

"I think Xander and Anya are in there." She said, pointing at Riley's door.

Spike nodded. Getting there wouldn't be easy but they hadn't come this far to give up now. He let his demon face come forward, he's bite his way through the vines if he had to.

"Stay behind me." He said, slowly making his way forward. For once Buffy didn't complain about being protected. Without a weapon she was pretty much useless and she didn't have the time to go searching for one.

The vines wrapped themselves around Spike's wrist and Buffy quickly helped him pull them off. They were moving forward the whole time and were nearly at the door.

With a cry Spike charged forward and smashed the door open. Instantly the air around them changed and the vines disappeared. Whatever was haunting the house was gone. Buffy hurried to join Spike who was stood in the doorway staring inside. Peering over his shoulder she saw Xander and Anya sat up in bed, the sheets pulled up around them.

"Come on, guys." Xander said in annoyance. "This isn't a peep show. Can't we get a little privacy?"

Glancing at each other Buffy and Spike sighed wearily and headed back onto the landing. The danger was apparently over, and Xander and Anya had been so wrapped up in their sex-fest that they hadn't even noticed it was happening.

As they headed back down the landing Buffy was surprised to see Riley stood up waiting for them.

"As soon as the vines vanished it was like nothing had happened." He explained, baring his throat so that she could see it was unmarked.

Buffy nodded and gave him a small smile.

"So everything is back to normal, right?" He asked hopefully. "I mean you two making out was only part of the haunting?"

Buffy glanced at Spike and said nothing. The truth was she didn't feel any different to the way she had five minutes ago.

Riley's face fell, the look on her face saying more than any words could.

"I'm gonna go." He said quietly. "You come and see me when you've figured out what you want to do."

Without another word he headed down the stairs and out into the night.

Buffy looked at Spike, uncertainty flooding her eyes. When she'd come to the party she'd never in a million years imagined something like this would happen. Just another night of weirdness on the hellmouth.

"So....what do we do now?" Buffy asked. "I mean maybe it was just the ghosts. It all just happened so fast and now they're gone maybe it'll just go away again."

"Everything else has gone back to normal, right?" Spike asked softly.

Buffy nodded.

"So how do you feel? About me?"

Buffy thought about it for a moment, afraid if she told him how she really felt that he'd tell her that he didn't feel the same way.

"I....don't know." She replied falteringly.

"Well, what would you do if I kissed you right now?" Spike asked, taking a small step towards her.

"Do you want to kiss me right now?" Buffy asked, lowering her eyes shyly.

"Wouldn't have mentioned it if I didn't." Spike replied with a grin.

"I don't mind if you don't." Buffy smiled, and with that he leant down and covered her mouth with his.

As their lips slowly moved together it suddenly became clear to both of them just how they felt about each other.

And it had nothing to do with ghosts.

The End


End file.
